Cycling Kyoto Imperial Palace Gosho

自転車で御所を乗る

 Cycling in the Imperial Palace in Kyoto - "Gosho" in Japanese - is not fast, is not convenient, and is not easy.

It is however exquisite.

The vast slab of land north of downtown Kyoto has a few buildings related to its former inhabitant(s), long since decamped to Tokyo, but it is much more than an "imperial" palace.

It is the city's best park.

Open 24 hours a day 365 days a year, it is not just a refuge but serves as the lungs of the city.

For cyclists, it presents a challenge - for those in a hurry, it could be perceived as an impediment that one must ride around - and an opportunity.

The opportunity is to ride - slowly - along the paths cut into the gravel by generations of cyclists. Go in at night when few are in the park, look at the stars, breathe deep, listen to the silence. Stop.

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Kyoto Pedestrian Charter

「歩くまち・京都」憲章

Kyoto has a "Pedestrian Charter," which was prepared and published by the city's Planning Division. It appears, among other places, on a plastic folder elementary school children in the city receive at school.

It voices admirable sentiments; however, the reality on the street - or, rather, sidewalks - remains starkly at odds with the goals outlined therein.

A simple translation follows the Japanese original.

「歩くまち・京都」憲章

わたちたちの京都では、市民一人ひとりは、

＊健康で、人と環境に優しい、歩いて楽しい暮らしを大切にします。

そして、市民と行政が一体となって、

＊だれもが歩いて出かけたくなる道路空間と公共交通を整え、賑わいあるまちを創ります。

＊京都を訪れるすべての人が、歩く魅力を満喫できるようにします。

"A Walking City - Kyoto": Pedestrian Charter

In Kyoto, we pledge to endeavor that all citizens will be able to enjoy walking and living in a healthy, environmentally-friendly city.

Arm in arm, the city government and its citizens:

*will create a city with public spaces, roads, and transportation that encourage walking and results in a lively city for all.

*that all who visit Kyoto will be able to fully enjoy the pleasure of walking.


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Bike Lane Sign Kyoto

自転車専用レーンの標識

As noted in a previous blog, Kyoto recently opened a new bike lane.

It is 300 meters long, and runs in front of the prefectural police department building.

Perhaps the best aspect of the lane is the sign, pictured at right.

It is clear, attractive, easy to understand - and framed mystically by a brutally trimmed street tree.

The black lettering at the bottom - ここまで (koko made) - means "until this point."

Thus, the lane ends at the sign.

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Kyoto BMX Bicycle

京都BMX自転車

On the walk back from a concert at Taku Taku - a funky old night club in downtown Kyoto - we came across this black BMX bike leaning against a a wall.

We were headed back to our simple cross bike, which was parked on Oike in a stationary lot the city recently installed.

The walk, along Tominokoji Dori, was cold with bright stars overhead.

From Shijo Dori north, both sides of the narrow street are lined with many restaurants and bars of all types.

The BMX would be great along the Kamo River or short trips downtown.

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Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi Dusk

四条河原町日暮れ

Dusk falls at Shijo Kawaramachi, the main intersection of downtown Kyoto.

A bitter cold night and clear skies highlight the lighting of the arcade, the cars, and above all Takashimaya department store on the left.

As gorgeous as it is to look at, there is no cycling.

The stretch of road is off limits to bicycles - and you wouldn't want to ride here.


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Homeless Person Bicycle Kyoto

京都河原町でのホムレスの自転車

Japan has far fewer homeless than the United States.

Those that are homeless often end up in low-rent areas of major cities - Sanya in Tokyo, Kamagasaki in Osaka - where there are cheap boarding houses and job brokers in search of day laborers.

In other places, like Kyoto, the down and out build semi-permanent structures under bridges: blue tarp covering the roof, generator running outside, and shoes lined up neatly in front of a door.

That is what was so surprising about the scene witnessed the other night on Kawaramachi above Sanjo, in central Kyoto.

A large man in many layers of clothing was slumped, asleep, in front of a building. He was filthy, and bags of possessions formed a low protective wall around him.

While a common enough sight in urban America, this was a first for us in Kyoto.

More amazing though was his bicycle, which was parked directly in front of him. He had leaned it against a railing separating the street from the sidewalk. And on and around it piles and piles of bags.

The tires have air, and the chain appears to be in good shape.

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Bike Lanes Kyoto

自転車専用レーン京都

A cruel joke? A pathetic attempt that resulted in abysmal failure?

As reported in the Kyoto Shinbun and the Kyoto pages of the Asahi Shinbun, Kyoto recently created a bike lane, its first since 1976 when a small portion of a street in distant south Kyoto was set aside for bikes.

The newspapers basically printed verbatim the press release they no doubt received from the City.

To wit:

As a means of reducing bike-related accidents, the city has created a bike lane that runs in front of the prefectural police building along Shinmachi Dori.

The 300 meter long blue lane is painted blue and has large block kanji that read 自転車専用 (jitensha senyo = bikes only).

Also in the works are bike lanes on Gojo Dori and possibly Oike Dori.

The former is expected to open at the end of February, and run 1.4 km from Gojo Ohashi to Horikawa. It will be created by fencing off a 5 meter wide area on the sidewalk for cyclists. This will separate bikes and pedestrians.

This is yet another example of why everything the mainstream media in Japan - with its press clubs and advertising revenues from big corporations - should be taken with a very large grain of salt.

We rode over yesterday to take a test spin in the "bikes only" lane. The lane is utterly meaningless because:

1. there is no barrier between the bike lane and the part of the street reserved for automobiles.
2. a taxi lane was left intact, and cuts the bike lane in two (God forbid the bureaucrats at the nearby Prefectural government building might have to walk a bit to hail a cab).
3. the painting on the street that designates the lane is sporadic - at the beginning and end only.
4. and, finally, the street itself is wide and not a major thoroughfare. Why on earth was a bike lane created here of all places? There is no need, repeat, no need here.

やれやれ。(Yare yare = Oh God...)

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